Reading (21-18) beat the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-2. Zach Eflin pitched 8.2 inningsof 4-hit, 5 strike out ball. Eflin had faced one batter over the minimum through the first 8 innings. Lee Ridenhour threw 2 pitches to gain his first save. Brock Stassi went 3-3 with 2 RBI. Gabriel Lino went 3-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. Roman Quinn had a hit but was picked off second and caught stealing for the 7th time this season. Tom Windle (0-3, 5.35) pitches game one of a double header tomorrow, the game two pitcher is still TBD.

Clearwater (20-22) lost to the Palm Beach Cardinals, 1-0. David Whitehead pitched well but got little offensive support. He allowed 2 hits and walked 4 in 6.0 innings. The Cardinals lone run came on a hit batter, stolen base, and two ground outs. The Threshers managed only four hits, all singles. Crawford had 2 hits. Brandon Leibrandt (4-2, 2.38) pitches tomorrow.

Lakewood (19-21) split their double header with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 4-0 and 1-2. In game one, Ranfi Casimiro pitched a 7.0 inning, complete game shutout. He allowed only 2 base hits. The Grasshoppers other 2 base runners came on BlueClaw fielding errors. Rhys Hoskins went 1-1 with a walk and an RBI. Derek Campbell had 2 RBI. In game two, Chris Oliver pitched a 6-hit, 7.0 inning, complete game. He lost when the BlueClaws couldn’t overcome the 2 runs he gave up in the first inning. Rhys Hoskins went 2-3 and scored their only run. Joel Fisher collected their RBI and had their only other hit. Edgar Garcia (2-4, 3.90) pitches tomorrow.

Williamsport (0-0) starts their season on the road against the State College Spikes on June 19th, home opener on June 20th.

GCL Phillies starts their season across the bay against the GCL Yankees1 on June 22nd, second game at the Carpenter Complex on June 23rd.

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54 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 5/22/2015”

Eflin, Whitehead, Casimio, Hoskins, Lino showing up well Friday. Does anybody here have a handle on Lino’s catching skills? 3/4 w a HR . Hoskins to move up a rung on the ladder soon? How about Lieter to Clwtr…? Can he fill in the 2nd half of a double header? The guy should be promoted soon, I think while Biddle is being worked on and out–temporarily–out of the rotation….?

Eflin and Nola both know how to pitch. Nola will strike out plenty. Eflin will get his share of strikeouts when he learns that it’s okay to throw a few extra pitches and miss bats. He intentionally pitches to contact, but his stuff breaks so hard and his command is so good that he induces weak contact and bad swings from minor leaguers. Eflin has a ton of untapped potential and he’s really good right now. He and Nola, IMO, are obviously advanced beyond their years and have almost unmatched command for young pitchers. I love Nola, but I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if Eflin becomes the best of the bunch and, frankly, I cannot even properly guage Eflin’s ceiling at this point because he is improving so rapidly. The Eastern League is a hitters league – what Nola and Eflin are doing there is exceptional.

Hope you are correct.
I like to think they can be 1 and 2 in the rotation with the expected results.
And maybe even Lively in the same mix.
If the Hamels deal is ever done, the Phillies should try to get another LHP starting candidate in the return package, since Windle and Biddle may need a lengthier more seasoning then expected.

Could not agree with Romus anymore. I like Lively a lot. He should be mentioned in the same group as Nola and Eflin. The lefties are a real concern. Wouldn’t Leibrandt be the best LH starter in the system now?

To answer ArtD, I saw Lino a couple of times this year. He has a real accurate and strong arm but is a notch below Grullon. He will take a shot at picking off runners but not like Grullon. Seems to do a real nice job with the staff.

As for the draft, I like HS RHP Mike Nirorak if he’s available. Some sites have him as low as #16. I’d take him and maybe save a little money. Personally, I don’t think you can have enough solid young arms. If he’s gone or passed over, I go for the HS OF’s (my order of preference Tucker, Cameron, Whitley, Clark and Plummer but he seems to be slipping).

I saw Arkansas CF Andy Benintendi last night versus Florida ( A J Puk is a story for another time…wow). He struggled in the SEC tournament and scouts don’t have a big book on him since he didn’t play in Cape Cod and had a so-so FR year. He exploded this year and was SEC POY. He has big time tools. Looked like Jim Edmonds in CF. Has a cannon for an arm. They said he hit LHP better than RHP this year (over matched versus Puk though). He is impressive but only 5-10 180.

We need to remember that evaluating prospects isn’t all about the numbers they’re putting up. Probably the only way Leibrandt becomes the best lefty-starter in the system is if his stuff improves. Biddle and Windle have struggled overall but remember Mecias and Garcia are still around and I would take both of those guys over Leibrandt, even though I do think he has a chance to make it.

As for Eflin and Nola, the strikeout% can be forgiven somewhat. It’s possible that both guys could get more whiffs if they really wanted to. The Phillies’ organizational philosophy really seems to be focusing on developing control over strikeouts these days. That said, we don’t know that those guys can do it until they actually do, so the jury is out. Eflin is still pretty young and projectable; he seems like he could be a good #4 starter without much change in his profile. I don’t know if he will add velocity or improve his slider, but I hope he does.

I hear you Romus, but they’re both still very young and will likely continue to develop their repertoire. Eflin is certainly harder to project but to put his age in perspective, Nola, who was drafted last season, is almost a full year older than Eflin who just turned 21 on April 8th. Eflin can be in Lakewood now and still be age appropriate. That he is throwing up these numbers against AA competition and in a hitter’s park is exceptionally impressive irrespective of his lackluster K-rate. Last night was the 4th time in 8 starts that he’s pitched 8 innings or more (though I’d question why he was brought out to start the 9th).

I’m not at all worried about Nola. The kid is a stud. Take away his 1st start of the season and he’d has a .94 ERA over 7 starts and 48 innings. Though I could barely stomach to hear Amaro attempt to articulate the reasons for not being aggressive with Nola, I actually agree with the approach. The perfect scenario would have him make 10 starts or so at LV, then a cameo in Philly when rosters expand. He could be up with the big club for good in May/June 2016.

One guy who has flown totally under the radar is Casamiro. He was awful last year and started poorly this year but boy has he turned it around. Does anyone know how hard he throws and what he throws? He has very quietly become a legit prospect I think.
Eflin is pretty darn good and will be pitching alongside Nola in Philly for years to come. I just wish we had a few offensive players to get excited about beyond JP and Quinn.

Me too Romus. Probably a bit premature to get too, too excited. In casual conversations with friends about the state of the organization, particularly those friends wearing perpetual rose-colored glasses, I’ve consistently maintained that the org needs a few youngsters to break-out in order to truly get excited, and this presumes that the Crawford’s and Nola’s of the world continue to perform as advertised.

It’s nice to see Quinn already entering some Top 100 prospect lists, and it’s certainly nice to see that many of us were nothing worse than a year (or two) early on Tocci, but its player like Hoskins who really get me excited. We have really need another hitter or two to show a similar break out; perhaps when the SS teams begin.

Rizzotti put up a 1.000+ OPS in Reading at age 24, then repeated with a .908 OPS in Reading at age 25. Ruf put up a 1.000+ in Reading at age 25. Susdorf put up a .902 OPS in Reading at age 25. A certain type of too-old-for-AA, limited college 1B put up very big numbers at Reading and then quickly fade from view. Reading is a HR park. The EL is a hitters’ league. Of course Ryan Howard also put up a 1.000+ ERA at Reading and went on to great things, but at least he did so at age 24 and continued to pound the ball when promoted to AAA that same year. Stassi is 25 and only has a .929 OPS, which puts him closer to Susdorf and Murphy than to the better of the over-aged Reading sluggers. On this year’s Reading team, the one-year younger Art Charles actually has stats which match Stassi’s. It would be nice if Stassi were the real deal, but this is his first good season with the bat. In his overall minor league career, Charles has hit better than Stassi has.

I like Hoskins too but it’s premature to call him a major leaguer. Galvis certainly could be an option at 2b if he can hit 280 with that glove. Not to be a broken record but we have no #3 hitter. We really need to get a winner in pick #10.

I hope the latest from BA is wrong. I just don’t trust the Phillies brass to pick high-schoolers, and for Whitley in particular, pick no. 11 is way, way too high. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have a player of his caliber in the system, but how many hitters can this franchise draft only to learn in their first pro season that they can’t hit a breaking ball or catch up with a 95 mph fastball? Too much of a risk at no. 11.

To be honest, that’s an odd mock selection by BA,,, nearly as odd as Gammons reporting that the Phillies might be interested in a package of Enrique Hernandez, pitchers Zach Lee and Chris Anderson, and catcher Julian Leon from the Dodgers in return for Hamels. That’s ludicrous

The Phillies have had Amaro and Gillick all over the country looking at players according to BA and they have no idea who we will draft. This is confusing the other teams also according to BA but the Phillies have many holes to fill.

No, he doesn’t have Bryant power (Romus claimed that a couple days ago), not per scouting or performance. So far he’s hit 14 HR in 446 minor league PA. Which is, if anything, a little below where we would like to see him. Though there does seem to be a bit more power potential than he’s shown so far.

That said, his approach has looked good, and his contact skills. so far, rather than being a real minus (which was the fear) have been a plus. An 18% K rate is nothing special in the greater scheme of things, but is quite good for a hitter of his profile.

The question is whether he can maintain that against advanced pitching. I’m not usually one to argue for quick promotions, but I’d like to see Hoskins move up very soon, and maybe even get a taste of AA by the end of the season.

Keep in mind that, as a first baseman, and one whose defense is, per reports, suspect, he’s going to have to REALLY mash to make it as a regular. And if he isn’t a regular, he doesn’t have much of chance at a major league bench role.

Some basic Sacramento State Hoskins notes from collegiate first base defense:
Jr: Led the WAC – 520 putouts and had 47 assists with a .986 fielding percentage
Soph: Tied for the WAC lead with 42 DPs fielded—third with 434 putouts…Had a .991 fielding percentage with just four errors.
Fr: Played LF primarily.

On a slightly more positive note, I think Galvis may be for real. Not .311 for real, but good enough that it’s not crazy to see him as a long term solution at second base. Though I’d prefer someone with a little more upside.

Galvis’s versatility on the defensive end makes him an important player in the rebuild. He can play 2b, SS and 3b and a very high level, and he could also play the OF in a pinch. If he has in fact developed into a .270ish hitter, I would like to see him stick around

Stassi’s line is great so far this year. But he’s 25 and in hitter friendly Reading. Let’s see what he does if he gets promoted. Lehigh Valley is the place where borderline hitting prospects hit a dead stop – we’ve seen it time and again. But I like the newfound power and the K and walk ratios – he’s certinly looking good on paper and I saw him hit at Reading and he passed the “eye” test.

Aumont gets through 5 innings allowing only 3 runs. He has given up 2 hits but has 8 walks. Also Charlotte is running wild on him. They have 3 SB’s, He also has a wild pitch. Painful to watch. Throw 98 pitches. 50 for strikes. Only started one batter with a strike.